Deri and Netanyahu
Deri and NetanyahuYonatan Sindel/Flash90

A majority of Israelis, including a large number of Likud and Religious Zionism party voters, agree with the Supreme Court's decision to disqualify Shas chairman Aryeh Deri from serving as a minister in the government, according to a survey conducted by the Maagei Mohot Institute for Israel Hayom.

To the question "What is your position regarding the Supreme Court ruling that Aryeh Deri will not be able to serve as a minister" - 65% answered that they agree with the Supreme Court's ruling, and that a person who has been convicted twice cannot serve as a minister. 22% answered that they do not agree with the judges and in their opinion the Supreme Court should not intervene in the matter. 13% answered that they do not know.

When divided into parties, 57% of Likud voters agree with the Supreme Court ruling against Deri. Among Religious Zionism party voters - 42% agree with the Supreme Court, 40% oppose the ruling and 18% do not know. Among Shas and United Torah Judaism voters, only 22% agreed with the ruling.

In response to the question of how Netanyahu should act after the Supreme Court ruling - 45% of the total sample answered that Netanyahu should fire Deri, 25% think that Deri should resign himself, 15% think that Netanyahu should not respect the Supreme Court ruling, and 15 % do not know.

The survey participants were asked how Prime Minister Netanyahu should act after Deri's dismissal. 54% answered that replacement ministers should be appointed from the current coalition, 18% support changing the composition of the coalition, 9% think that new elections should be held, and 9% believe that there is no need to obey the Supreme Court ruling, even if it would lead to a constitutional crisis. 10% answered that they do not know. In answer to this question, 38% of Shas voters support the possibility of disobeying the Supreme Court ruling, as do 30% of United Torah Judaism voters.

Minister Deri will attend the cabinet meeting this morning (Sunday) during which he will receive the notice of dismissal from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For the time being, it was agreed between Netanyahu and Deri that his place in the Health and Interior Ministries will be filled by Shas ministers in an acting capacity and not in permanent appointments.